Microsoft is finally bringing voice messaging to the Xbox One, allowing people to record and send snippets of speech to other users of Xbox Live. The heavily requested update, which is currently being rolled out to people invited to Xbox’s Update Preview program, also brings dedicated servers for party chat to cut down on connection errors, and expands the “What’s On” area of the console’s dashboard.
Redmond also revealed that in addition to sending private voice messages, you’ll also be able to chat in groups — thanks to dedicated servers meant to handle the extra data load.
Voice messaging has been available on the Xbox 360 since it launched in 2006, but the feature didn’t carry over to the Xbox One when it launched in 2013. With the update, users of both consoles will be able to record and send messages to each other.
The update will also bring a number of minor tweaks to the Xbox One’s interface, making it easier to check achievement notifications without launching the relevant app, and adding game hub links to collect information about specific games in one place. The April update doesn’t yet have an exact release date, but our powerful sense of intuition tells us it’s probably coming sometime next month.
